Live Review: The Fall of Troy w/ Osaka Punch @ Max Watt’s, Brisbane

Post-hardcore trio The Fall of Troy kicked the arses of the loyal crowd that came to see them at Brisbane’s Max Watt’s as part of their 2016 world tour. The Washington gents are known for their technical, almost mathematical melodics and breakdowns, with a mix of soft prog and brutal hardcore bringing it all together.

Brisbane locals Osaka Punch were the unmissable opening act for the night, and their energy was incredible. Their name suits them, they’re a bit like a punch in the face…but a cool punch, if that’s a thing. They were a perfect mood setter because they have such a passion for what they do.

A highlight of the Osaka Punch set was when they whipped out Stonk. This funky, heavy melody is a ridiculous amount of fun live, and the quartet’s body movements and facial expressions made it a humorous dance-along that had everyone’s feet tapping.

Eat Red Carpet is a name that might throw you off, but don’t let it! The song, which starts with maracas and a tasty bass line, instantly drew everyone to the mosh pit. The way the song builds live is something that makes you dance, and vocalist Jack Muzak delivered a ridiculous amount of soul.

You would think they’d been playing for a lot longer than they have, because they mesh seamlessly as a quartet and genuinely have fun on stage. The vibe was infectious and spread to every single person in the audience, as their heavy grooves and poppy melodies vibrated the floors. Their guitars were tuned to “heavy as hell” and yet they still breathed sophistication, the way a softer band would. They were a pretty suitable opener for The Fall of Troy, and Brisbanites should be proud to call them locals!

The merch counter sold-out by the time The Fall of Troy had even started, a testament to how dedicated their fans are even all the way down under. By the time the guys were due to come on stage the crowd had turned into a sea of screaming ‘Troy shirts.

When The Fall of Troy were due to start it was 10pm and people were grogged up and ready to party hard. The crowd wasn’t huge, but the fans were some of the most loyal I’ve seen. The floor erupted into massive cheers when the trio walked on stage and launched into their set without hesitation. Exclamations of “sh*t yeah” echoed through the crowd as the band dove from section to section of their songs, playing with a rigour that matched their studio versions, something you don’t always see live.

This gig was a pretty big homage to their second and most popular album ‘Doppelganger’, and they played almost every song from the album. For this reason all the pieces perfectly blended into each other, and kept with an energetic theme that never slowed down. Vocalist Thomas Erak thrashed across the stage, while bassist Tim Ward and drummer Andrew Forsman played with the speed and precision that you would expect from a mathcore band. A highlight was their banger F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X, which sent the crowd into a manic sea of flailing heads, arms, and legs.

One of the best songs of the night was a mystery new song, and the guys admitted it was the first time they had ever played it live. “Sorry if we f*ck it up, we just really want you guys to enjoy it,” Erak gushed as they jumped right into the song. A mesmerising combination of clean and guttural vocals were layered over an intricate mix of high, low, fast, and slow. At one point I thought Forsman’s arms were going to fall off he was drumming so fast, but every beat was perfectly timed. It’s exactly the kind of attention to detail you’d expect from the post-hardcore champions.

Even though there were a lot of songs from their latest album, the guys made sure to include songs outside of the album. Your Loss and 401K particularly got the crowd into a headbanging frenzy, and at one point they started a brutal looking circle pit.

One of the best things about this gig actually had nothing to do with the songs, it had to do with what happened in between the songs. Erak made sure the crowd knew how damn appreciated they were as he spoke to them in between instrument changes and tuning guitars. These guys really care about each and every person that helps to keep them touring, and they responded to every crowd comment in between songs.

And was there an encore? Of course there was! They were back out just ten seconds after the crowd started protesting for an encore, and they gave us not one, but two songs before they bowed out.

For someone who isn’t into mathrock or post-hardcore, this gig probably wouldn’t have felt like anything special. But for fans of the genre, and especially for fans of The Fall of Troy, the set was pretty damn awesome. We hope they come back down under soon!

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